Finger Prints on Records

Good point Photon46!

I have super acidic oils and didn't even think about it when handling vinyl. But I always hold by the edges with a single finger -almost dropped one yesterday. Finger prints I am usually cleaning are those already on used records and just a few of mine, I guess.

Almandog, I think you may have posted a response to this tread over in the 'Well recorded..." thread?

ed

I think it may be a chemical reaction of the oil from our fingers to the cleaning agents. When I clean an old used album of finger prints it looks really good but after playing it I see parts of a finger print on the lead in groove and never seem to get rid of them even after cleaning again. Maybe we should use gloves when cleaning till all the cleaning solution has evaporated. I use a VPI 16.5 and it vacumes away the liquid but is it really totally dry?

Isopropyl alcohol removes just about anything and does not leave residue, like sometimes ethyl alcohol. Either one, 70% or undiluted will do.
Alcohol is benign enough at some point being used in some experimental systems as a damping fluid (a brush oozing alcohol was leading the stilus).

Use a cotton ball, lightly soaked. Make sure it is fresh out of a bag, with no dust.

I think it’s also possible that some of us have more acidic skin oils than others

True. Often caused by diet, thus reversible. There are reasons bigger than fingerprints-on-records to lower your acidity: the body should be mildly alkaline for peak health.

But back to fingerprints-on-records — I have an old friend who says he’s an ’audiophile; sure has an audiophile system. But every time he handles a record, it’s with full thumb and two fingers, on both sides at once. And he has a great record collection! I keep telling him but he won’t change, drives me nuts to watch.

I put my thumb on the edge, and two fingers under the label. Nothing touches the grooves except the stylus.